Composition of matter



XFE

UVHHHU U I'LHOHU 1,962,903 coiurosmox or MATTER Marc Darrin, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to F. N.

Burt Company, Limited, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a corporation of Ontario, Canada No Drawing. Application January 16,1930,

Serial N0. 421,313

9 Claims. -(Cl. 91-70)' This invention relates to a new and useful composition of matter.

It is an object of this invention. to provide a composition of matter which will be strong and capable of being easily manipulated and which will also be impermeable, durable, resistant to decomposition and disintegration, a non-conductor of electricity and which can be made fire-proof if desired.

A more specific object is to provide a process by which porous objects and more particularly wood may be completely saturated with'sulphur either before or after fabrication to form an a 7 impervious, rigid, resistant material which will be an excellent insulator and will possess other desirable properties.

Other objects of the invention win in pm be f'iobvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises a product I possessingthe features, properties and the relation of constituentswhich is exemplified in the following detailed disclosure to which reference ,-may be had for a fuller understanding.-

1 Wood in its natural form possesses many desirable properties being comparatively inexpensive and possessing, strength and rigidity but it has'such an amnity for moisture and it so .readily absorbs other substances that it cannot be relied upon where impervlousness is demanded, as for example in electrical insulators. Moreover, this tendency to absorb moisture may result 'in the wood eventually weathering or cracking.

Sulphur possesses. the property of being impervious and chemically inert but attempts to,

' 1 impregnate wood with sulphur have not been successful because the wood fibers do not readily absorb sulphur probably because the sulphur does not readily wet the surface of thefibers.

Moreover sulphur when cooled from the melting point tends to solidify. in monoclinic crystals which are unstable at room temperatures and are gradually converted into the rhombic form with a resultant crystalline shrinkage which REFERENCE dibenzyl ketone, fluorene, carbazol, naphthalen /quinoline. a

in particular-is powerful and while compare many purposes than when chlorodiphenyls are b l l r. oFFIcE in fields where it would otherwise be unsuitable and it gives it a density and coherence which makes it resistant and durable and easy to, manipulate or machine. The substances herein referred to which are capable of so altering the properties of sulphur are known as introflers.

The principle of introfaction is most strongly illustrated by the use of small quantities of introflers such as naphthalene, diphenyls and chlorodiphenyls in whicha very great increase in penetration and impermeability may be produced. I Diphenyls and chlorodiphenyls form excellent introfiers and good results have also been obtained with other substances in which the mole- I cule contains a plurality of cyclic nuclei, as for" example the higher diphenyls and chlorodi phenyls andKdiphenyl methane,- benzyl ether,

naphthols,,naphthylamines, tetmhydronaphtha lenesymbnochloronaphthalenes, dichloronaph thalenes; trichloronaphthalenes, tetrachloro naphthalenes, f 'pentachloronaphthalenes an Substances having more than two cyclic clei, for example, anthracene, tz'iphenyl me and triphenylphosphate, possess the property; introflers, /although they are more soluble in melted sulphur. Triphenyl phospha tively inexpensive, it produces excellent results.

Particularly good rcsultshave been obtained with mixtures of chlorodiphenyls including two-cyclic 'diphe'nyls withhigher members the group. This substance'is miscible with; sul

phur'in all proportions and in itself forms excellent impregnant and serves to render th product fire-proof when usedin sumcient quantity. Morover, the mutual solution of sulphur. and chlorodiphenyls are tougher and more re-f f sistant than when sulphur is used alone and is cheaper, tougher and more satisfactory for used alone. Complete fire-proofing may be obtained by the employment of of chlorodiphenyls with the sulphur but lesser amounts will produce a corresponding elfect in reducing the combustibility. e The chlorinated dihpenyls are moreover particularly desirable because of the improvement in mechanical properties, a lack of unpleasant odors, their non-volatility and theirstrong introfying properties.

Naphthalene is an inexpensive and satisfactory introfler but where used in large proportions it may for many purposes be more desirable to employ halogen derivatives which are less volatile. and more incombustible.

These introfying substances and particularly 5 the chorodiphenyls are miscible with a wide variety of dye stuffs and coloring matters and serve as a ready means of introduction of these dyes and coloring matters into the impregnant. A variation in the proportions 'of the ingredients will enable a wide variety of surface eficcts and textures to be obtained, as for example certain proportions of sulphur and chlorodiphenyls have waxlike properties.

In many cases the proportions of the ingredients are limited by the mutual solubility. Where sulphur is employed with naphthalene or diphenyls or chlorodiphenyls,- the proportions may be varied within wide limits since these substances are mutually soluble in almost all proportions.

The amount of sulphur which can be absorbed into wood fiber is dependent upon the porosity of the wood and the character of communication between the pores. With certain woods the absorption will be only a small fraction of that which can be obtained with other woods, but

in any event the use of the introfier in a woodreason of. the capacity of these introfiers to vm ixwith the resins, the presence of resinous in the wood will in many cases be nreena Thefarticle'; tofbe impregnated may "be ime themelted bath of the ingredients as for example a solution of 20% of chlorodiphenyls and 80% sulphur at'from 100 t'gi lfiudegrees C. It is desirable that the durati'on'oizimpregnation be reduced to a minimum and on this accountit may be desirable particularly where -the wood or other substance to beirnpregnated is at a dense character to employ' 'pressure uponthe bath during the period g timpregnationr; In thismanner the impregnation :mayin many instances be hastened.

For'fsomepurposes the impregnating bath .maybe'applied' witha brush at the surface only. In such-case it; should be applied sufliciently hot to insure that it may soak into the surface the "amount desired or else it should be heated subsequent to its application to permit the desired degree of penetration to be secured.

The temperature of impregnation will of course vary with the composition used for impregnating and will depend also on the porous substance employed.

It has been found that this composition of matter possesses very superior properties as an Particularly good results have been- "red ,'oak, chestnut, gum and maple, possibly by ound not to interfere. with the process of imion and itxmayjin some cases be beneinsulator particularly for. high frequency currents and when employed in that capacity it is subject to less electrical losses than where glass insulators are employed.

Since certain modifications in the composition which embodies the invention may be made without departing from the scope it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween. Y

Now having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:--

1. A composition of matter comprising a porous material having its pores substantially filled with filled with a mixture of sulphur and chlorodi-. phenyls in a stable impervious form including higher members of the chlorodiphenyl series in Y suflicient quantities to'render the product nonflammable and possessing the properties of hardness, strength,- impermeability, being an elec- :trical insulator and capable of fabrication.

. 3. A process of treating wood which comprises subjecting it to the action of sulphur and chlorodiphenyls at a temperature below the temper ature of the deterioration of the wood. 4. A process of treating a porous substance which comprises subjecting it to the action of I sulphur and chlorodiphenyls. I

5. A process of treating a porous substance which comprises subjecting it to the action of of higher chlorodiphenyls at a temperature-of about 100 to 150 degrees C.

8. A composition of matter comprising a material with communicating pores having its pores substantially filled with a mixture of an impregnant and chlorodiphenyls. and possessing the properties of strength and impermeability, and being an electrical insulator.

9. A composition of matter comprising wood having its pores substantially filled with a mixture containing chlorodiphenyls and possessing the property'of impermeability and being an electrical insulator.

. MARC DARRIN. 

